Meningitis Possible Cause Of 5-Year-Old Durham Girl's Death

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Durham County Department of Public Health is looking into the death of a 5-year-old child who attended a church day care for a possible case of bacterial meningitis.

Department spokesman Eric Nickens said nine other children who attend Mount Zion Christian Daycare in Durham are being treated with preventative antibiotics because they had been in contact with the child.

Nickens said the unidentified child showed no signs of illness until Wednesday. She died at Duke University Hospital.

The school was closed Thursday as efforts got under way to disinfect the building.

Mount Zion pastor Donald Fozard Sr. was not available for comment Thursday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control's website, meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.